Half-Blood is Thicker Than Magic
by ThisMeatIsDefinitelyNotHuman
Summary: This is the story of Skye Jackson. She was a student at Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry, and little does she know that her life could get even crazier than it already is. Set after the second wizarding war, the magical world is about to get a bit Greek... Prepare for adventure as two strange worlds collide
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

With a sigh of relief Skye threw the last hoodie into her bag and levitated it down the hallway. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny had already arrived and were standing grinning in her front room.

"Are you ready yet Skye?" Ron demanded and she rolled her eyes at him before nodding and joining them.

"I can't believe we're going to America!' Ginny squealed, making Ron sigh dramatically. He was clearly excited though and he couldn't help but laugh as his friends continued to grin like maniacs. After the battle of Hogwarts, which had taken place a few months ago, they had decided to go on holiday to get away from it all, especially as everyone was still reeling from the many deaths that were painfully raw in the mind. Skye shook herself mentally; this was going to be an awesome holiday, just the break they all needed to get back on track with their lives.

They grabbed each other's' hands, yelled goodbye to England and apparated. Skye felt the horrible sensation of being squeezed through a rubber tube and gasped as the air was sucked from her lungs. She tumbled forwards and landed in soft warm grass. She had never enjoyed apparating, either solo or side-long, and so she took a moment to find her bearings. The first thing she noticed about her new surroundings was the heat; it must have been at least 35 degrees Celsius. She pulled off her jacket which was fast becoming sweltering in the heat and glanced around. Ron was helping Hermione to her feet and Harry and Ginny were already scouting the area for the house in which they were intending to stay.

"Oi, over here," Harry gestured to a building in the distance.

"Yup I see it," Skye replied and slung her jacket over her shoulder. Together the small group made their way towards the house, able to take in more detail as they got closer.

The house appeared to be some sort of barn conversion, with a spacious, open ground floor that contained a kitchen-come-dining-room as well as a sitting room and an upper level with three bedrooms and a small bathroom. The rooms were light and airy, the sun filtering in through large windows and the high ceiling was supported with light oak beams, a perfect combination of old and new. The walls were white, making the rooms seem larger than they were. The group spread out to explore the building and in no time at all Harry and Ginny had started an ultimate pillow fight (which involved cushions zooming through the air at high speed), Hermione was fretting about breaking things, to Ron's incredulity ('Are you a witch, or not?') and Skye was subtly trying to scope out the bedroom with the best view. Finally they congregated in the kitchen area to discuss rooms. The two couples had rooms to themselves and Skye managed to bag the room looking out onto a small stream that ran through the field, which backed onto a small wood.

"The last one to finish unpacking has to make dinner!" Ron yelled from the room he was sharing with Hermione and the house was suddenly filled with thuds as clothes were thrown into draws and wardrobes were slammed shut. Hermione, who had attempted to pack her own personal library, became flustered as she tried to charm them onto the small set of shelves in the corner of her room. Unfortunately, Ron was rushing past to put some clothes away and received a face full of _Hogwarts; a History. _

"Oh my gosh Ronald, I'm so sorry!" Hermione squealed as Ron went down like a sack of bricks.

"Looks like you two are making dinner!" Skye hollered as she passed their door. "Oi Harry, do you have the brooms?"

"They're here," Harry called from the ground floor.

"Fancy a game of two-on-one?" Ginny asked as Skye joined them.

"Sure thing," she beamed and they ran out of the house, mounting their brooms as they went.

Ron groaned as he saw them zoom past the window and Hermione shook her head at him fondly.

"Come on," she said, "let's get a start on food." She was actually quite glad that she was able to stay in and cook rather than playing Quidditch.

The game was fast and tough. It might have been two against one but the snitch they had brought with them was quick and Harry was pulling off some moves that he had perfected over the last month. He had spent a lot of time in the Weasley's garden, flying to keep his mind off more serious matters. Eventually Skye and Ginny managed to corner the snitch between them and Skye whooped as Ginny grasped it in her fist. Harry laughed and pushed a hand through his wind tousled hair. They angled gently towards the ground and dismounted, trudging back to the house where the beautiful aromas of spaghetti bolognaise hit them. Hermione was grinning and Ron scowling as they crowded around the dining table but soon the air was full as laughter and the food disappeared faster than Snape confronted with shampoo.

That evening after a quick game of Wizard Chess (in which Ron utterly destroyed Harry, putting him in a much better mood) they retired quite early and decided that tomorrow would be a good day to explore the wood behind the house that Skye had spotted earlier. They bid each other good night and climbed the stairs to bed.

The first week passed in a blissful haze of peace, relaxing and not doing much. There was a decent sized pool at the back of the house which provided hours of entertainment, mainly Ginny inventing a multitude of different ways to splash the boys without having to actually get wet herself and Hermione and Skye felt no need to stop her, as she was having so much fun. Another fun game was hide-and-go-charm, a game similar to the muggle 'hide-and-seek.' The wood was the perfect place to play and the idea was to find the people hiding and then hit them with the most inventive (but harmless) charm one could think of. By the end of the first few days Ron's hair was a becoming mix of green, yellow and pink and none of the charms Hermione tried could get rid of the sparkly pink unicorn that had tattooed itself onto Skye's face. According to Ron it would fade in a few days but so far Skye was having no such luck.

On the morning of the 6th day Skye woke up early to the singing of birds and sun streaming through the gap in the curtains. The others were still asleep and it was so quiet that the moment felt magical. More magical that is, than a house full of wizards. She grabbed a book and her wand, pulled on a loose blue top and some shorts, and made her way out to the pool, glancing in a mirror on her way past. Amazingly the pink was almost completely gone but her face was still distinctly glittery. She sat down in one of the deck chairs by the pool and closed her eyes, now was a good time to get some serious tanning done. Could this day be any more perfect?

Suddenly there was a loud crack and Skye shrieked as a curse flew through the air towards her, narrowly missing her head and blasting a chunk out of the wall behind her. Out of pure instinct and with a yell she threw the first thing she could get her hands on, which just so happened to be the book she had brought out with her, a heavy leather bound version of the Sherlock Holmes collection and pulled out her wand. There was a dull _thunk_ and a yelp of pain as the book collided with the head of a tall man wearing a long black robe and a mask. _Death Eater_.

Skye opened her mouth to scream a curse when four more cracks tore through the air and more hooded figures appeared. Skye's stomach dropped and a chill spread through her as she gazed at her opponents. She raised her wand again in defiance just as Harry and the others ran out the door in varying states of undress, having been awoken her cries. They hurried to her side and in no time a full blown wizard duel had broken out. Skye narrowly dodged a bright green curse and a Death Eater howled. They were aiming to kill.

"Hold on!" Skye called to the others, intending to apparate, but just as they were about to leave, a Death Eater clamped down on her wrist, pinning it in a vice like grip, but she had already started to turn. The last thing she heard was Ron's seemingly distant yelling, as they were whisked away to Dumbledore knew where.

Skye stumbled as she landed but scrambled up to continue the fight. Great, she had managed to bring the Death Eaters along too. She glanced around to get a grip on her surroundings, while keeping one eye on the Death Eaters that were still firing at them, to see if there was anything that would assist them in their fight. Behind them was a big hill, on top of which was a pine tree but apart from that all Skye could see for miles around were fields. Wow, helpful. They duelled until Skye thought she would collapse from exhaustion and finally there were only two Death Eaters left standing, the others having been stupefied or frozen. Suddenly one of them made a violent slashing movement which Hermione was only able to partially block. She fell to the ground unconscious. That's when Skye began to see red. After everything they had been through together this couldn't be happening. They were finally out of the darkness that had enveloped the wizarding world for so long and Skye would fight tooth and nail to prevent her friends from falling prey to further harm.

She flung her wand arm out in front of her and screamed, "Crucio!"

"Skye, No! Stop!" She was only vaguely aware of Ron stunning the other Death Eater while Ginny and Harry ran towards her. It felt as if they were moving in slow motion, as her anger and fear for her friends coursed down through her wand to be transformed into pure agony. The Death Eater writhed and screamed on the floor as she violently repeated the torture curse. Skye slowly became aware of a soft hand on her arm and her vision blurred as she collapsed into the comforting and familiar flowery scent that was Ginny. She dropped her wand and desperately tried to stop her body from shaking as she was fought against the overwhelming surge of anger and fear that they would never be free of Voldemort's curse.

"It's okay," Ginny whispered soothingly. "Skye, it's over. Harry's sent his patronus to Kingsley. They'll take the Death Eaters to Azkaban, don't worry."

But suddenly everything seemed too loud, the colours too bright. Skye couldn't breathe as she curled herself into a tight ball drawing in breath desperately. Tears ran down her face but she neither cared nor noticed, focussing only on the tightening in her chest and the sick feeling in her stomach. She vaguely heard Ginny's anxious mutterings and caught sight of something flash past her vision. Assuming the Death Eaters had come back for more she tried to reach for her fallen wand but before her fingers had closed around the smooth wood a wonderful feeling of deep calm overtook her body. Her breathing came more and more easily and after only a short space of time she felt able to sit up and slowly wiped the tear tracks from her cheeks.

"Thank goodness that worked," she heard Ginny sigh, and turned round to see her friend pale faced and still holding her wand.

"What happened? What did you do?" Skye asked in amazement.

"It was just a spell which creates a similar effect to a calming draught," Ginny replied softly. "I'm just glad it worked properly, it's the first time I tried it. You were having a panic attack. To be perfectly honest I'm amazed that it hasn't happened before now to any of us considering what we've been through."

"Thank you," Skye said earnestly, hugging Ginny tightly and pulling back slowly. It was only then that Skye noticed the bewildered looking boy with messy black hair standing gaping behind them.

AN: So this is set after the Last Olympian. Percy and the gang are 17 and the wizards are 17, apart from Ginny who is 16. I know according to the books they wouldn't have been this age at the same time but it works for my plot line. Enjoy...


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

It was still early in the morning and Percy was having a rare good dream. His dad was congratulating him on saving Olympus, Tyson was being given a nicely varnished new club and Annabeth was ranting about architecture. He had just turned down the offer of immortality. The look on Zeus' face? Priceless. So he was not best pleased when it was marred by screaming and yelling. He immediately woke with a jolt and felt oddly nervous when he realised that the dreadful noises were still audible. He recognised them at once, the sounds of battle.

He frantically pulled on as much armour as he could find which just so happened to be a helmet, a breast plate and one leg greave. He tripped out of his cabin and ran to find the battle without stopping to call for backup. In hindsight, probably not the smartest move. As he ran he pulled Riptide from his pocket, yanked the cap off the pen and the sword materialised in front of him. He charged over the top of the hill and various thoughts flashed through his mind; _could it be the Hunters? _He thought with a flutter of excitement. _What kind of monster will I see when I reach the top? Where is my other leg greave?!_ With these thoughts it wasn't surprising that he stopped dead when he finally reached the other side of the hill.

A group of guys in robes were picking up some other dudes dressed in black. Then they disappeared. _Whoa_, Percy rubbed his eyes, _what the-_ Was he hallucinating? His vision then fell on two teenagers, who looked to be slightly older than him, crouching around another body on the floor. Next to them were two girls. One of them was crying and the other, a red-head, was doing her best to comfort her. They were mostly all in their pyjamas, which probably didn't bother him as much as it should have done. Suddenly the crying girl stopped. She looked up. And saw Percy.

"Hi?" he asked casually, as though this happened every day, but on the inside he was screaming. _T__hose guys just vanished into thin air! __His brain hollered at him but he continued to ignore his immediate battle instincts. T_he girls looked up at him and the red-head cautiously called out, "Um...Harry, come over here a sec..." She had a British accent and one of the boys who had been crouching jogged over.

"Sure, what's..Oh." He stopped abruptly, looking at Percy in concern. How rude, they hadn't even said hello and his bed-head wasn't_ that_ bad. The dude was average height and skinny, with emerald green eyes, a mop of black hair, like Percy's, and round glasses. Percy could just about make out an oddly shaped scar on his forehead. Maybe they were rogue demigods making their way to camp? But that still didn't explain the disappearing people, and the teenagers in front of him seemed to be around his age, making the idea highly unlikely. Oooh, logic. Annabeth would be proud.

"Hey Harry, she's awake. Where d'ya go? Oh." A tall, gangly, red-headed boy stopped talking and stared at him. There was a girl with bushy brown hair leaning heavily on his arm. She looked tired but said, "Don't stare Ronald, its impolite".

Ronald shut his mouth which had been hanging open and stared at the ground instead, the tips of his ears burning.

"Oh stop sulking," the two girls had walked over and the red-head who looked like the dude's sister was trying hard not to laugh. The girl who had been crying was looking at me intently. She had long blond hair and piercing sky blue eyes which were rimmed with red, indicators of her recent distress. She was frowning however, and Percy squirmed a bit before realising that she was probably trying to figure out why he was wearing half a suit of armour.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" she demanded.

Wow, polite much. Percy figured that, as he was still alive, they weren't monsters and they looked as surprised to see him as he was them, so he decided it was safe to tell them his name.

"I'm Percy Jackson, I'm staying at summer camp," he replied guardedly.

"Summer camp?" she repeated wearily. "We're in the middle of nowhere."

"Best place for it," Percy replied defensively and the girl looked like she was about to argue before she was interrupted by the still flushed Ronald.

"Do you think we could rest for a bit at your camp? Hermione's not feeling great." he asked, gesturing to the brown-haired girl, brushing over the fact that everyone also looked like they were about to collapse.

"Umm..." Percy hesitated. Clarisse would probably try to whoop his ass if he let a spy or someone into camp, not that she actually _could_ but Percy didn't want to waste his energy evading her.

"Please," the blonde girl looked close to crying again.

Percy sighed. Seeing as a few of them had just disappeared and they didn't seem to be bothered about it, he realised that they probably weren't ordinary mortals. What the heck, he couldn't deal with girl tears. He'd just take them to Chiron and hope someone had hidden Clarisse's new electric spear, preferably in the lava pit.

"Sure, follow me," he replied. The bushy haired girl flashed a small, relieved smile and the group followed him up the hill. He was about to give them permission to enter the camp when they walked across the border without even hesitating. Upon noticing that he had stopped they looked at him questioningly but he shook his head dubiously and carried on walking, wondering who on earth these strange people were.

The group trailed behind Percy, lost in thought and Skye's curiosity began to build as they headed over the top of the hill. Without warning, the group stopped abruptly and Skye gasped at the sight that met her eyes. The camp was full of large white-columned buildings and in the distance she could see miles of strawberry fields, a kayaking lake, stables, a climbing wall that seemed to be shooting lava and a huge pastel blue farmhouse with white trimmings, which is where they seemed to be headed. Skye's jaw dropped and she could've sworn she had just seen a-

"Flying horse," Ron muttered faintly. Ah, so Skye hadn't been imagining it then.

Percy looked a bit worried and said quickly, "Don't ask any questions. Chiron will explain."

Skye could see Harry bursting to say something however and laughed as he tried not to ask a question.

"You look more confused than a Hufflepuff," she told him giggling, the morning's event had left her feeling slightly hysterical. Harry looked indignant and Percy glanced at them weirdly.

"What the hell is a Hufflepuff?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. Luckily Skye was saved having to explain by the appearance of a centaur.

Harry's face fell and he made to bow in respect, which Skye thought was a reasonably smart move considering the attitudes of the centaurs that lived at Hogwarts. However Harry aborted his bow at a strange noise from Percy, which sounded like a stifled snigger.

"What?" Harry looked miffed but the centaur smiled kindly, noticing Harry's accent.

"Do not be embarrassed," he said. "I know that my British counterparts are less tolerating of humans and treating them with any less respect would have greatly injured their honour, but here in America we are more relaxed." Then he turned to Percy. "Do not laugh at others' customs, it could get you hurt."

Percy looked at the ground, his ears almost as pink as Ron's had been. It was Skye's turn to smirk, as the centaur turned back to Harry.

"I am Chiron, activities director here at camp, and yet you do not seem shocked by my appearance. Who are you?"

Harry glanced back at his friends but they nodded encouragingly and he said, "I'm Harry Potter, and this is Skye Carter, Hermione Granger and Ron and Ginny Weasley," pointing at them in turn. "Until last year we were all students at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Percy's mouth dropped open and he stared at the group of wizards.

"So you're...magicians?" he asked, gobsmacked. Skye groaned loudly.

"No, we are wizards and witches. Magician is the term used for muggles who play with cards and pretend to do tricks," she snapped pointedly. The others laughed at her indignant tone but Percy was too curious to be embarrassed.

"Wow," he gasped, "So you can like, do magic and stuff? Awesome!"

Harry laughed at his awed face and conjured his patronus, making it run around Percy.

"You're such a show off," Skye grumbled but Harry just shrugged in amusement as his stag raced around them.

"What in Tartarus is that?!" came a girl's shrill voice from behind them. Percy closed his eyes and smiled weakly as Harry's patronus faded. As one the group spun around and was confronted by a girl with long blond hair tied back in a messy pony tail and tangled with leaves and twigs. There was mud on her face and what looked ominously like burn marks on her bright orange shirt. She didn't seem too happy.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Annabeth came storming towards them and Percy could have hit himself. He knew she'd be angry at not being told about new people in camp, she always liked to be on top these things. Not to mention mysterious ghostly deer running about camp. Percy could have laughed at the look on Harry's face, but thought that might have been a bit cruel. The poor bloke looked terrified of Annabeth, although to be honest Percy had to agree with him. She looked quite mad.

"Hey Annabeth," he greeted her, raising his hand slightly. "This is Skye, Harry, Ron, Ginny and Hermione."

When Annabeth saw the rather wary looks on the newcomers' faces she got herself under control and smiled at them. They seemed to relax a bit and the girls smiled back at her.

"Will someone please explain to me what that was?" she asked cautiously, almost like she didn't really want to know the answer. Actually now he thought about it, Percy wasn't too sure what it was either. He looked at Harry and the wizard explained, "It's a Patronus. They're visual representations of your happiest memory and act like guards against dark creatures like dementors. You can also use them to send messages to others."

"Wait so was that-?" Annabeth looked at the guys curiously.

"Magic? Yeah," Ron nodded. "We're magici-" He stopped at a glare from Skye. "I mean we're witches and wizards," he said, trying to stop himself from laughing and failing miserably. Annabeth looked at them thoughtfully, processing what she had been told and studiously ignoring Ron's muffled snorts. She looked like she wanted to demand that Harry explain exactly what dementors were but managed to rein herself in for the time being. Harry didn't doubt that there would be many long explanations of the magical world in the not too distant future.

"Cool," she grinned and everyone smiled. Percy sighed in relief, glad that any serious outbursts had been avoided.

"So why are you here?" Annabeth asked Hermione curiously.

"Well we were having a holiday after the battle of Hogwarts - long story," she said quickly as Annabeth opened her mouth. "We'll tell you later. In brief, some of the followers of the enemy, who were against us in the battle, escaped afterwards and decided to come back to take revenge on us for killing their leader, especially on Harry. We started to fight and in an attempt to get away Skye brought us here." She looked at Skye who simply shrugged and mouthed "fields." Hermione rolled her eyes but smiled as Ron took over the narrative.

"Hermione then got knocked unconscious and we stupefied the others. Harry sent his patronus to the Ministry of Magic and they were just taking the men who attacked us away when Percy arrived."

Annabeth nodded and then looked at them critically. "I have a question. Other than wanting to know about this battle, which you can explain after, I was wondering why everyone apart from Skye is in their pyjamas?"

Everyone glanced down and Ron went so red that he would have given a tomato a run for its money. Skye was practically dying from laughter and Harry scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.

"I guess we ran out to help Skye so quickly that we forgot to get changed," he grinned ruefully.

Annabeth raised a stern eyebrow but her amusement was clear in her eyes. "Why doesn't Skye stay here and you lot go back to your house and get changed and then come back?"

Everyone agreed and apparated back to the house leaving Skye to follow Chiron, Percy and Annabeth as they headed over to the large farm house to wait until the others returned.

Skye sat at a table in the big house waiting for the others to get back. She felt a bit uncomfortable, as Percy was doggedly staring at her and Annabeth had fixed her with a calculating gaze. She started to fidget and Chiron noticed her discomfort. "Are you all right?" he asked kindly.

"Yeah," Skye nodded. She didn't want him to think she was nervous, even though her stomach felt like it was full of Rettigats (curious invisible creatures that snuck in through your ears and danced around your intestines in tense situations, or so Luna assured her). It was important to make a strong first impression and she was starting to feel slightly humiliated about breaking down in the field. Thankfully no one had yet mentioned it.

"Will you tell us about the battle you mentioned earlier?" Percy looked eager but Skye shook her head.

"I think we should wait until the others get back, as they know a bit more about it than I do." She was now quite certain that the Rettigats were dancing a tango, or possibly a foxtrot.

Percy looked at her curiously but she didn't elaborate further. While the 'Golden Trio', as everyone called them, had been out hunting Horcruxes, Skye, along with Ginny, had been back at Hogwarts. The school year and following battle were some of the worst experiences of her life and she wanted the others there to help her, in case she felt like she couldn't explain in detail. Like the majority of survivors she still suffered from nightmares where she was forced to relive the battle over and over in gory detail, as well as the numerous torture sessions instigated by the Carrows. She didn't really feel like explaining this to Percy, so she just ignored him and rested her head on the table. Percy seemed to get the message and left her in silence for the time being.

"Um, Skye? Anyone?" Skye jumped up at the sound of Harry's voice and ran outside, followed by Percy, Annabeth and Chiron. The sight that met their eyes was actually quite funny, but the other wizards looked so apprehensive that Skye held back her laugh. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny, now fully dressed, were surrounded by a group of curious and slightly suspicious teenagers. Oh yeah, did she mention that they were all holding swords?

"Chiron," barked a huge girl with straggly brown hair in a crimson bandanna. "Who are they?"

"Clarisse, put your sword away," he sighed. "And the rest of you!" he yelled to the gathered crowd. Everyone reluctantly sheathed their weapons, but continued to stare at the newcomers suspiciously. Chiron looked at them and said, "Maybe now would be a good time to explain everything." Skye raised her eyebrows but Harry nodded resignedly.

"Well we know about them," he reasoned when he saw her dubious expression, "so why not?"

She sighed in agreement, and Chiron called to the campers, "Everyone please make your way to the campfire. Everything will soon be explained." He looked at the group for confirmation and they nodded.

Everyone trooped over to a huge campfire, even though it was still morning, and sat down on the logs surrounding it. Skye gasped as the flames soared high in the air and changed colour. She heard Hermione muttering under her breath furiously, "It must be enchanted to reflect the emotions of the campers..." Trust Hermione to know everything. Ron, who was obviously thinking the same thing, chuckled to himself.

The small group gathered in front of the campers, who were sitting in a semi-circle. Only Chiron was standing with them at the front, Annabeth and Percy having slipped back into the crowd. Chiron blew a shell, the sound echoing around the camp and called for silence. The whole camp was silent at once, which was kind of spooky. He nodded to Harry, who stepped forward and began to talk.

He explained that they were wizards and told the gathered campers about Hogwarts. His friends noticed that he didn't really talk about how the Dursleys had treated him but then they realised, he didn't want these kids' pity, he wanted their friendship and acceptance. Ron then took over, explaining about their first year. Skye and Ginny laughed when he recounted the troll bogie incident on their first Halloween. Ginny then carried on with their second year, with the others supplying any extra details that she'd missed out. Hermione took the third year and Skye the fouth, before Ron told them about their fifth and Harry finished with their sixth year. Harry noticeably tensed up really bad when he recounted Dumbledore's death, and when Ron talked about Sirius and the ordeal that was the Department of Mysteries. During Ron's section of the narration, Skye had been able to make out the white scars on the back of Harry's clenched fist, _I must not tell lies_. She knew however that Harry wouldn't appreciate her pity. He'd had to deal with so much more than was expected of an ordinary wizard his age and he still acted like a leader, taking control when no-one else knew what to do. The war had forced everyone to grow up quickly.

By this point all of the campers were gazing at them with mixed expressions of awe and shock. Harry, Ron and Hermione were looking at Skye and Ginny and she realised that the others wanted them to explain what happened at Hogwarts next, seeing as they didn't go back. Skye sighed. This was one bit of her past that she really did not want to revisit. She explained to the campers how they had headed back to Hogwarts without Ron, Harry and Hermione and that it had been taken over by Death Eaters who had turned it into a school for the dark arts. She described it as well as she could but when she got to talking about the DA and all the kids that had been tortured and abused her throat blocked up and Ginny had to carry on. The youngest Weasley explained how they managed to last out under Snape's control and keep up everyone's hopes by resisting the Death Eaters and their twisted leader. She finally got to the bit when Harry, Ron and Hermione turned up in the Room of Requirement and turned to them. They began to explain what they had been doing while everyone else was at school and Skye began to tune out slightly, she had heard the story several times before.

They explained up to the start of the battle and fell quiet, unsure of how to continue. In the awkward silence that followed, Skye's stomach gave the largest growl ever heard among man-kind. She caught Ginny's eye and they collapsed laughing as everyone else stared at them weirdly.

Hermione wiped a tear of laughter from her eye and panted, "That was better than Awkward Turtle!" Skye, Ron and Ginny looked at her puzzled, while Harry groaned despairingly until she shrugged.

"Muggle thing," she explained. The bemused wizards nodded and turned to Chiron as Skye and Ginny tried to get a hold over their giggling. Ron had shoved his fist in his mouth to stop himself from laughing.

"Do you mind if we break for lunch?" Skye asked, grinning. Chiron nodded, smiling kindly.

"Of course," he replied, making the intently listening campers groan, they were so engrossed by the story. Harry let out a bark-like laugh and Chiron lead them over to an open air pavilion that smelled of mouth-wateringly delicious food.

Lunch was an interesting affair. Everyone sat down and the group went to join Percy but Chiron called them back. He explained that the tables were specific to each cabin, like Hogwarts' house tables, and that one couldn't just swap tables. Skye thought this a bit silly as Percy had to sit on his own but Chiron offered them all seats at the head table with him and Percy gave them a small smile so the wizards sat down cautiously. The food was served by young girls, but all Skye could think of for some reason was _tree._ Happy to talk about his camp, Chiron explained that they were Dryads, forest nymphs whose spirits resided in the trees. Skye took this in without asking any questions because, to be honest, she'd seen stranger. She was quickly distracted though by the huge amount of food that was available. Ron was already shoving pizza into his mouth on her laeft hand side and Harry wasn't doing much better on her right. Oh well, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Skye reached out and grabbed some bread, what looked like some kind of roasted root vegetable and a wonderful smelling barbecued something or other.

"Sorry Chiron," Hermione began, "but where can we get something to drink?"

"Just ask for whatever you want and it will appear," Chiron smiled benignly.

"Really!" Ron gasped, gobsmacked. He grasped his goblet and lifted it to eye-height, exclaiming, "Odgen's Old Firewhiskey." The goblet quickly filled with a rich amber liquid but before he could have a single sip it was snatched from his hands by his disapproving wife, accompanied by a scolding, "its only lunch time, Ronald."

Ron grumbled but didn't protest when his goblet was returned filled with pumpkin juice. His sister snickered as she and Skye shared a smug grin.

Suddenly all the campers stood up and began making their way towards a couple of huge braziers. Skye was shocked when they began to scrape portions of their food into the flames but again Chiron explained that it was a traditional sacrifice to their godly parents. The whole god concept still confused Skye a bit (gods? In New York? Pretty crazy, right?), so she decided that she would get him to explain it to her in more depth after they had told the rest of their story.

All too quickly lunch was over, and her stomach was starting to churn at the thought of recounting the battle. She wished in hindsight that she hadn't eaten so much and reluctantly followed the others back over to the camp fire.

When everyone was sitting relatively comfortably, Harry once again began to speak. Skye managed to control her emotions until he reached the part of his narrative where he began to recount Fred's death. Skye glanced over to Ron and Ginny, who both had silent tears running down their cheeks. She didn't even bother to wipe the tears from her own eyes as Harry continued to talk, but when he recounted the deaths of Remus and Tonks he stopped, unable to continue through the lump in his throat. In the silence they heard some sniffs from the campers and Skye watched as Ginny slipped her hand into Harry's and he continued, his voice cracking occasionally. When he explained how Voldemort had killed him the entire camp gasped. Harry closed his eyes and continued to talk. Everyone knew that he hated being the centre of attention but this was his story to tell and the other four noticed that he cut out some of the more personal things that he had told them, for example a few of Snape's memories and the extent of the conversation he had with Dumbledore. At last he reached the moment of his final battle with Voldemort. He seemed to almost be in a trance, and it was clear that he was imagining himself there again. When he had finished silence descended completely. Hermione still had tears clinging to her lashes and was leaning against Ron for support, who still looked distraught at having to relive Fred's death. None of them looked ready to talk soon so Skye shakily took over.

"Recently, we decided to come on a holiday to America so that we could get away from it all. While we were at the house we were staying at, we were attacked by a group of Death Eaters. I brought us here for some reason and Percy found us. I asked if we could rest here for a bit, as Hermione had been knocked out and he led us to Chiron," Skye found herself shaking slightly as she stopped talking. She felt a distinctly sick and short of breath. Harry subtly squeezed her hand.

"You okay?" he whispered anxiously.

She nodded, taking a deep breath and looking across at him. "I just thought it was over," she sighed softly in reply. "And then those Death Eaters came... and they hurt Hermione... and I...I"

Harry gave her an awkward one armed hug and Skye laughed briefly, if slightly hysterically, at his sheepish smile before remembering that a whole group of people were still watching them with deep curiosity. Skye firmly pushed the thought of the Cruciatus curse from her mind. It had been an extreme situation and the others understood, but she hated herself for using an unforgivable curse. She mentally shook herself. _He was a Death Eater_, she told herself firmly, _he deserved it._

Seeing how shaken they were, Chiron sent the campers back to their normal activities and took the five of them over to the Big House, along with Percy and Annabeth. Skye felt exhausted and checked her watch. It was five o'clock, man they had been talking for a long time. They sat on the porch of the house not saying anything as each collected their own thoughts. It was a comfortable silence however and everyone started to relax. Then Chiron spoke, "Seeing as it is nearing dinner, I was wondering if you would like to eat with us?" Harry looked at the rest of the group hopefully and seeing their nods replied, "Sure! We'd love to, and I highly doubt that any of us are up to cooking tonight."

"Why don't you stay the night as well?" Annabeth piped up, looking at Chiron, who nodded.

"As long as it's not an inconvenience for you," Harry said, ever polite.

"Of course not," Chiron smiled kindly. "It'll give you the chance to learn some more about us, seeing as we know everything about you now."

Skye grinned widely; the day seemed to be looking up at last. And maybe Ron would get a chance to have some firewhiskey after all.


	4. Chapter 4

After dinner, everyone had some free time, so the small group of wizards and demigods decided to relax by the lake. The shimmering expanse of water gave Harry a pang of longing as he thought of the Black Lake and the destruction of his home. He shook himself, it would not do to dwell on such things. He lowered himself onto the soft grass of the bank and stretched out in the diminishing sun. He was soon joined by the others and his melancholy mood began to pass, replaced by a feeling of companionship and contentment.

"So," Skye spoke up, breaking the silence. "How does this godly parent thing work?"

Percy propped himself up on one elbow and explained, "Well basically, we are known as half-bloods or demigods, because one of our parents was a Greek god or goddess. They would have appeared to our mortal parent in human form and uh.. y'know.." he tailed off awkwardly and Annabeth sighed as he attempted to demonstrate his meaning with hand gestures.

Ron snorted and Annabeth took pity on Percy. "What Seaweed Brain here means is that we are part mortal, part god and have certain attributes of our godly parent."

"Yeah, like this!" Percy called, summoning a huge whirlpool around him, clearly eager to move on from his disastrous attempts at explaining divine conception. He was rewarded with looks of awe and impressed murmuring from the wizards and he let the water drop back into the lake as Annabeth muttered "Show off."

"Oh yeah?" He countered teasingly. "You're just jealous wise-girl."

Annabeth just scoffed as Hermione asked, "So your father's Poseidon then?"

Percy nodded and the others stared at her.

"Hey 'Mione, how did you know that?" Ron asked, impressed.

She shrugged, "I had to do a project on the Greek gods when I was in primary school. It's quite fascinating really."

Ron looked at her oddly and Percy got the distinct impression that he didn't find school work fascinating at all. He felt like he was warming to Ron more and more.

However Annabeth then went into lecture mode and Percy tuned out she gave everyone a crash course in Greek mythology.

"So do you do much here then?" Harry asked curiously.

"No, we sit in the fields all day and eat strawberries, while enjoying the pleasant sound of panpipes," Percy replied sarcastically, turning to Annabeth in mock exasperation. Annabeth however only laughed and Harry mirrored her grin.

"Do you guys not watch the news?" Percy asked.

"Hmm, we've been a little busy recently," Hermione replied, smiling at Percy's indignation. "Why don't you fill us in?"

"Just a little bit busy," Percy echoed faintly. "Cos you know, it's easy to miss the end of the world as we know it." Nevertheless he jumped up and pulled out Riptide.

"A pen?" Ron commented unimpressed.

"Not just any pen," Percy countered mysteriously, pulling off the lid and revealing the gleaming bronze blade.

The small crowd gasped and Annabeth just rolled her eyes at his theatrics.

"What kind of charm does that?" Hermione began, but Ron shushed her as Percy leapt into a graphic re-enactment of his first fight with his demonic maths teacher. He told them about his journey to camp and his first quest to return Zeus' stolen lightning bolt. He kept talking and Annabeth helped fill in the gaps he left in the story. Suddenly, without anyone noticing, the sky was dark and hazy, the stars shining brightly over the camp and the moon basking it in an otherworldly glow. Hermione summoned a couple of small jars and filled them with her trademark portable flames, creating a warm, cosy feel. The night was balmy and no-one was quite ready to retreat inside just yet. Instead Annabeth and Percy embarked on the tale of their final battle against the Titans.

By the end of the retelling it was the wizards' turn to gape.

"It seems we've both had major battles', Skye commented morosely.

"And losses," Harry added, a little darkly.

A cloying silence fell on the small party and Percy changed the subject in an attempt to lift their spirits. "If you guys are staying for the night, then we should probably ask Chiron where you're going to sleep." Annabeth glanced at him gratefully as the girls brightened up slightly and the boys nodded. They carried the small jars of gently flickering light before them as they headed over to the Big House. Chiron offered them rooms in the house and they accepted gratefully. Percy led them upstairs and the boys took one room, the girls the other. Skye turned back to him and said, "We're just going to grab some things from our house, and we'll turn in when we get back, so night."

The others called good night as well and Percy headed back to his cabin, quietly contemplating the effect these new arrivals would have on the camp. It certainly wouldn't be boring.

Skye, Ginny, Harry, Hermione and Ron apparated back to the house and, only just realising how tired they really were, trudged upstairs. They threw their things into their suitcases and hauled the luggage down the stairs and into the living room. They all gripped hands, sharing a tired but excited glance, and apparated back to the camp.

"Locomotor" Harry muttered softly and they all climbed the stairs back up to their rooms for the night, their trunks floating gently behind them.

Once she had reached the room she was sharing with Hermione and Ginny, Skye collapsed onto her bed and sighed. The day had been nothing if not eventful and the long exchange of stories had been exhausting, even when she was just listening. She quickly changed into her pyjamas and glanced over at Ginny and Hermione, to tell them that she was going to sleep now. When she received no reply she realised that they were already asleep, and laughing to herself, she slipped under the covers and rolled into a comfortable position. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

Suddenly someone was shaking her abruptly awake.

"Wha-" she started as she jolted awake but Hermione shushed her as Ginny whispered, "Listen!"

Skye strained her ears but there was no need. An anguished yell rang across the silent camp, "No! Not Fred!" quickly followed by "Tonks, Lupin! Dont be dead! No! Kill me instead... NO!" The last word wasn't spoken but screamed and the noise was feral and filled with grief. Skye's insides turned cold as she recognised Harry's voice. Ginny moaned in despair as they ran outside to see Harry battling an invisible opponent with all the passion and fury as if he was duelling the Dark Lord himself. His lips were drawn in a snarl but his eyes were closed tight, asleep.

Skye watched on, consumed by her feeling of complete uselessness, but she knew there was nothing she could do to help. After the battle, Harry had had nightmares where he would relive the whole thing in gory and vivid detail, if his fevered shouts were anything to go by. He had always refused to speak about them the morning after and his friends were forced to watch on in helpless sympathy. Sometimes he would sleep walk, but these instances had stopped months ago. From the looks of it, having to tell the story yesterday had made him relive it so strongly that he was having nightmares again. Ginny let out a strangled sob and ran from the room.

"Ginny no! Come back!" Skye yelled but it was no use and it was all they could do to watch her race across the grass towards Harry's flailing figure.

"Come on, we need to go after her," Hermione groaned, pressing her hands into her eyes as though not being able to see it would stop it from happening. But Harry's cries of anguish were as loud as ever. The two girls sprinted down the stairs and over to Ginny, who was trying to hold Harry still, tears streaming down her cheeks. Skye sharply pulled her back out of the way and Harry's hand just missed her face, making her cry harder.

Skye tried her best to console her, saying "You can't do anything until he wakes up. He doesn't know what he's doing right now and he might hurt you by accident. If he did, it would kill him inside to know that he hurt you."

Ginny nodded and wiped her eyes as they stood there silently at a safe distance, waiting for the dream to end, powerless to help. When Harry finally collapsed silently on the ground Ginny ran to him and hugged him fiercely. Skye followed with Ron and Hermione. Harry was now awake and looking extremely pale and ill, but with each passing minute he began to regain his colour, until the only indicator of his suffering was a tremor in his hands and a haunted look in his emerald eyes. He was still lying on the ground and Ginny didn't hesitate to kneel down beside him.

Skye was about to ask how he was feeling, when Ginny leaned over and kissed him. Skye glanced at Ron and Hermione awkwardly and looked up at the sky. Harry and Ginny weren't usually this public and sometimes you forgot that they were dating.

"Um, guys?" Hermione ventured, but they ignored her. It didn't look like they would be stopping anytime soon.

Looking round, Skye suddenly noticed the large crowd of campers that had gathered near them, obviously having been awoken by Harry's yells.

"Oi, you've got an audience," Ron said loudly, his ears flaming. It was hard for him to watch his best friend and sister kissing, but Skye had to laugh at his tactlessness. Hermione just rolled her eyes, but Ginny shot off Harry as though she had been burned. Her face and ears as red as Ron's had been, she made an excuse and ran into the house. Harry sat up, looking sheepishly at Ron, who sighed and gave him a hand up. When Skye realised that an awkward silence was settling she yelled, "Alright, move along, nothing to see here." Reluctantly the crowd of campers broke up and they headed slowly back to their cabins, chatting in low voices about what had just happened. Percy and Annabeth however, stayed behind.

"What was all that about?" asked Percy, fighting to keep a straight face.

"Just a nightmare," Harry replied.

"Looked like a pretty good one to me," smirked Percy, winking suggestively.

"Oh haha, very funny," Harry sighed, but he still looked pretty happy despite his exhaustion. "I'd better, y'know," he gestured in the direction Ginny had run off in and left hurriedly. Ron still looked disgruntled but Hermione hugged him lightly and led him back to the house.

Skye yawned loudly and looked at Percy and Annabeth. "I think I'm gunna go back to sleep for a bit, seeing as its only 4.30," she mumbled. They nodded and left, wishing her a good night, or what was left of it, as the three headed back to bed. Harry and Ginny were not in their rooms but Skye wasn't about to go looking for them. She wouldn't want to be Harry when Ron got to him in the morning. She chuckled softly and went back to sleep.

Percy sat up in bed and yawned, stretching. Last night had sure been...interesting. Harry's dream might have been a little on the disturbing side and definitely fell into the category of '_things-I-would-definitely-like-to-avoid-in-the-future_'. Rolling his shoulders and running a hand through his hair in a vain attempt to tame it, Percy stumbled into jeans and a bright orange t-shirt and out of his cabin, only to fall heavily back to the floor. He glared through sleep blurred eyes at the obstacle in his doorway and came face to face with an unimpressed Annabeth.

"I've been waiting ages for you to surface," she commented lightly. "You do realise that it's past midday?"

"Yeah well, maybe you remember being woken up in the middle of the night?" Percy returned, grumbling as the sun shone through his door and practically blinded him. "Some of us need our beauty sleep."

"Clearly," Annabeth smirked. "I've seen more attractive Harpies."

"I'm wounded," Percy grinned up at her, slowly getting to his feet. "At least say that I'm prettier than Clarisse."

"Hmm, I'll have to think about it."

Percy stuck his tongue out in a very mature counter argument and brought up what had been niggling at his mind since he had ungracefully crawled out of bed. "That was some display last night, huh?"

Annabeth shrugged and raised an eyebrow, "didn't think you'd be bothered by a nightmare."

"Don't get me wrong," Percy insisted, "I'm no stranger to bad dreams, but I don't usually go running around battling thin air."

Annabeth shrugged again, "I doubt having to relive that battle helped very much."

Percy nodded in agreement, the bloke had had a rough time; it was amazing he was still in one piece and not a blubbering wreck. The couple strolled along in the direction of the lake in silence, each occupied with their own thoughts and only belatedly noticing the small group of wizards stretched out on the bank, chatting and laughing in the warm afternoon sun. Making an executive and informed decision that they looked way too relaxed, Percy ran towards them yelling jubilantly and cannon-balled into the water right next to them. The girls shrieked, whilst the guys yelled in shock as they were splashed. Percy surfaced, laughing so hard that he would have drowned if he hadn't been able to breathe under water. He summoned a wave to propel himself back onto the grass and shook his head like a dog, covering everyone in water for a second time. He turned and smirked at the group of sopping wet wizards but that smug expression began to slip as he caught Ron whispering something to Harry. However, before he was able to do anything to protect himself from the unknown prank that was inevitably coming he had been hoisted into the air by his ankle.

Suddenly all Percy could see was orange as his shirt fell into his face and he thrashed around blindly. He finally managed to push it up to see the entire group rolling around in hysterics. Oh great, yet another opportunity look cool in front of Annabeth.

"Let me down," he growled, the menacing effect ruined by the fact that all the blood had rushed to his head, causing his face to turn redder than Ginny's had last night.

"You're really not doing anything to endear yourself Percy dear," Annabeth called in a sweet voice.

"Sickly sweet," Percy grumbled to himself.

"What was that Kelp Head?" Annabeth's no nonsense tone was back. "The harpies really are looking like a very appealing option right now."

"I'm not even going to ask," Harry managed to spit out between his laughter. He finally managed to stop laughing and stood up, twirling his wand in his fingers whilst shaking the water out of his hair. "Well," Harry said, smirking, "It's more fun to see you struggling upside down..." He pocketed his wand and grinned evilly at Percy, glasses flashing in the sun.

"I'll get you Potter," Percy growled through gritted teeth, though everyone could tell I didn't mean it.

"Oh yeah Jackson? I'd like to see you try. We Brits have got some serious moves." Harry glanced at Ron when he said the word 'serious'. Ron chuckled but Percy didn't get the joke.

Anyway, he would show them – and he had the perfect plan. He felt the familiar tugging sensation in his gut, and pushed with all his might, laughing at the looks on their faces when half the lake fell on top of them. Spluttering like a fish, Harry waved his wand and let Percy fall unceremoniously to the floor. Percy whooped, dancing around the sopping wizards, "Godly powers win again!"

However in the middle of his triumphant celebrations Percy felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around slowly and stopped dead at the sight that met him. Annabeth stood in front of him, utterly and completely drenched. Ah. That definitely classed as a complication. Trying to stop her from getting wet would have probably been a good idea. Percy meekly held up his hands in surrender, trying to look placating but Annabeth stepped forwards menacingly.

"Oh you are dead, Seaweed Brain," she grinned. Percy backed away quickly, looking around for help in any form. He caught Skye's eye but she just shook her head, laughing.

"You brought this one on yourself Percy," she chuckled.

"Percy," called a voice. Percy turned frantically and almost cried in relief as he saw Chiron walking towards them.

"Save me!" Percy yelled, running towards the centaur. Chiron took one glance at Annabeth and chuckled before turning back to a terrified Percy. "Just came to remind you that Capture the Flag is taking place tonight and you should go over any last minute tactics with your team. You may also want to explain to our friends here the basic aims as they are invited to join us if they wish. However if that is the case I would like them to come to me later to discuss which spells are acceptable for use."

"Cool, thanks," Percy nodded, "we'll get right on it." Chiron smiled and headed off, presumably to notify the other team.

"So what's all this about capturing flags?" Ron asked. "Or do I not want to know?"

"Oh, you want to know, trust me," Percy grinned.

Harry sighed, was life never easy?


End file.
